House 16

SENATE RESOLUTION 16

(By Senators Woodrum, Hamilton, and Morris)

[Introduced January 27, 2026]

Designating January 27, 2026, as Civil Air Patrol Day at the Legislature.

Whereas, The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is the official auxiliary of the U. S. Air Force and, in 2016, CAP was placed on equal footing as part of the Air Force’s “total force”, along with the active-duty elements, the Air National Guard, and the Air Force Reserve; and

Whereas, The West Virginia Wing of CAP has 14 Squadrons throughout the state with a total of over 600 volunteer cadet and senior members; and

Whereas, The West Virginia wing performs vital homeland security missions that help ensure the protection of our citizens, infrastructure, and the state as a whole by performing search and rescue, photographic and other homeland security-related missions and operations in support of the West Virginia Army and Air National Guard units, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and other state and local emergency and law-enforcement agencies; and

Whereas, The West Virginia wing works very closely with our state’s Army and Air National Guard units, emergency services, and homeland security agencies and personnel in training for response to natural disasters, terrorist attacks, as well as air and ground search and rescue operations; and

Whereas, The West Virginia wing, with single-engine aircraft, vehicles, and all-volunteer force, trains for and is constantly prepared to immediately respond to search, rescue, disaster relief, and other emergency and homeland security missions here in West Virginia; and

Whereas, CAP also operates one of the most effective Drug Demand Reduction programs in the nation, assisting units at all levels to instill an aggressive, positive, drug-free attitude in CAP members, Air Force families, Department of Defense civilians and school-age children through a comprehensive program; and

Whereas, The West Virginia wing endeavors to educate its cadets in the principles of cyber defense and cyber ethics through participation in CyberPatriot, a National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, which tasks teams of high school and middle school students with finding cybersecurity vulnerabilities within an IT network and hardening the system while maintaining critical services.  The wing’s teams compete for top placement within West Virginia, the Civil Air Patrol nationally or to be the top team in the nation across all service branches.  Cadets are also encouraged to pursue careers in cybersecurity with opportunities to earn scholarships and internships, helping to grow West Virginia’s technical workforce; and

Whereas, CAP provides other exceptional education and growth opportunities for youth through its nearly 30,000-member strong cadet program which annually provides access to top national summer flight academies to learn to fly powered and glider aircraft; state and regional youth leadership academies; as well as to approximately 30 national programs emphasizing leadership and careers in aviation; and

Whereas, CAP's Aerospace Education Program annually touches more than 1,800 educators, more than 200,000 youths, cadets and others in classrooms across America teaching multidisciplinary aviation concepts that emphasize aviation's connection to history, math, science, government, and economics; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate:

That the Senate hereby designates January 27, 2026, as Civil Air Patrol Day at the Legislature; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Senate hereby commends the officers and cadets of the West Virginia wing of the Civil Air Patrol and extends its sincere appreciation and gratitude to them for their service; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the West Virginia wing of the Civil Air Patrol.